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Hollywood Style: Salons to Twist, Blow, and Style Your Locks

By Genie Davis

July 21, 2016

Looking for a perfect hair cut or style? Hollywood has what you need to get what you want in these three salons, each with their own special take on hair-care.

REHAB Salon is an acronym for “roots exclusive hair and beauty.” Located at 1515 N. Cahuenga Blvd., this full service salon welcomes men, women, and children. “We do cut, color, and natural styles including braids, twists, weaves, and dreadlocks,” owner Aklia Chinn says. “We have four stylists and a barber on duty full-time, so that we can offer barber cuts, fades, and line-ups.”

Rehab Salon owner Aklia Chinn.

The salon has been in business for 10 years, but it isn’t Chinn’s first foray into Hollywood glamor. “I opened my designer jewelry business, Aklia’s, in 1997,” she explains. The salon is located behind the boutique, which features global art objects as well as jewelry and textiles. Chinn wanted to diversify and collaborated with a professional hair stylist to come up with the concept for the salon.

A large portion of REHAB’s clientele is African American. “I don’t know of many others in the area focused on African American haircare and that sets us apart. Beyond that, our setting is a unique experience. Our clients enter through the shop, we always have incense burning, jazz or lounge music playing. It’s not a fast-paced, rushed experience; it’s a comfortable one, where people tend to feel at home,” Chinn notes. The salon itself is decorated with authentic folk art barber signs from West Africa, Moroccan mirrors and lanterns.

“Our most unique service is our locks, or dreadlocks. We offer everything from everyday dreadlock maintenance to elaborate styles like braiding, twists, and wraps that include yarn, beads, and pendants.”

At Blo Blow Dry Bar at 6250 Hollywood Blvd. at the W Hotel (pictured in the photo at the top of this post), it’s not cuts but styling that this trendy salon offers. Stylist Veronica Ruiz says the pink-and-white-decorated salon lives up to its tag line “no cuts, no color: just wash, blo, go.” While the salon serves more women than men, they do get some male customers, and both sexes enjoy one of their most unique services. “That would be head massages,” Ruiz says. “We offer them to help people relax on a busy day.” The salon provides make-up services as well as hair styling, with styling services even including labor-intensive up-dos. “When clients come to us, they can relax with a head massage, get their hair styled, and get their make-up done so they’re all ready to go out, day or night.” The salon has eight styling sections and is open seven days a week starting as early as 7 a.m.

The sleek, modern interior of Blo Blow Dry Bar, located at the W Hollywood Hotel, on the Argyle side.

Hair by Nico at 1600 Vine Street offers a full range of cuts, colors, and services such as Brazilian blow-outs, according to owner Nico Colon. “What I do is I take the Vidal Sassoon style of hair cutting to another level. I’ve created a new way to cut hair that makes cuts last longer, so that when my clients come to the salon, it’s because they want a hair cut, not because they need one.”

Nico Colon, owner of Hair by Nico.

Colon says clients thrive on his long-lasting cuts. “You can choose when you want to come in, you’re not pressured to come in after a certain number of weeks because the shape of your cut will stay there.”

Colon cuts and styles both men and women at his sleekly modern, elegant eleven-year-old salon. Nico himself has been cutting hair for 24 years, and has been spotlighted on VH1, the CW, and CBS on The Dr. Phil Show.

With relaxing music playing and cutting edge fashion videos on studio screens, Colon says the salon is considered a “mini-vacation” by his clients. But above all else, the Hair by Nico experience is about – hair. “I’m very passionate about what I do. My number one thing is doing an amazing haircut, and giving my clients product knowledge, so they walk away knowing how to take care of their hair.”

Hair By Nico is located at 1600 Vine.

Genie Davis is a multi-published novelist and journalist, and produced screen and television writer. Passionate about everything-Los Angeles, you can see her work in the arts on her own www.diversionsLA.com.